The final home game of the 2010-2011 football season ended in a loss for the Varsity Blues as they fell 40-21 to the visiting McMaster Marauders.
It did not take long at all for the Blues to get going on Saturday. After sacking Marauder quarterback Kyle Quinlan on second down on the opening possession, the Blues marched right back down the field.
Blues quarterback Andrew Gillis and the rest of the offense looked sharp as they used just three plays to take the ball to the McMaster 3-yard line, and followed it up seconds later with a touchdown pass to receiver Michael Prempeh in the end zone.
The Marauders came right back, and though their touchdown drive faltered at the end, they settled for a 36-yard field goal. They got the ball back with a few minutes left in the first quarter, and quarterback Kyle Quinlan completed a 20-yard touchdown pass to receiver Joshua Kreidl with no time left on the clock to make it 10-7 Marauders.
Things got interesting on the field – and in the stands – when, on the second possession of the second quarter, Blues defensive lineman Joe Cappiello forced a fumble on a sack. Defensive back Kevin Asare returned the fumble 75 yards for a touchdown, putting the Blues up 14-10.
The Blues stepped up yet again when, a few possessions later, Jonathan Wright blocked a punt, and sent the ball back into Marauder territory. This led to another Blues touchdown from Prempeh. The Blues went into halftime with a 21-17 lead.
Unfortunately, the second half did not bode so well for the Blues. Premph’s second quarter touchdown was the last score for the Blues in the game, and at home this season. Gillis was intercepted twice in the third quarter and twice again in the fourth, with two leading to Marauder scores – a 17-yard field goal off the first, and a touchdown run from the 3-yard line off the second. Quinlan added a 62-yard touchdown strike amongst the interceptions, and the final score of the game was 40-21 for McMaster.
The Blues rushing attack just didn’t click, and they only put up 30 total yards on the ground.
On the Marauder side, Quinlan had 137 yards on the ground in addition to 306 through the air. He led all rushers and passers for the day.
Despite what the scoreboard said, the Blues put up a good fight and were on defensively. Blues defensive back Kyle Kennedy led all players in the game with 14 solo tackles and his teammate Wilkerson DeSouza had 13. Kennedy was honoured with the Blues Player of the Game award.
